Many vehicles include a passenger compartment for receiving one or more passengers of the vehicle. Generally, these vehicles include an instrument panel and seats disposed inside the passenger compartment. In such vehicle architecture, a heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) unit and other components are mounted behind the instrument panel or dashboard. A frame of such a vehicle includes a first side wall adjacent to the driver side door and a second side wall adjacent to the passenger side door. A cross-car beam is attached to the frame to support the HVAC unit and other components of the vehicle, such as a steering wheel. The cross-car beam extends the entire width of the passenger compartment from adjacent to the driver side door to the passenger side door.